MP Elsie Blundell meets ear and eye care experts caring for patients and supporting the NHS
MP Elsie Blundell has gone to Specsavers to see how expert local opticians and audiologists are making a difference to patients, the community and supporting the NHS – and are ready to do more.
Elsie, MP for Heywood and Middleton North, chatted to the team at Specsavers Middleton on Friday about how they are delivering NHS services and providing vital access to eye and ear care.
The visit comes after Middleton opened a new hearing hub at the start of the year, providing enhanced audiology services to customers.
Razwana Mahmood, audiology partner at Specsavers Middleton, said: ‘The store now has more dedicated testing space and increased availability to test, doubling the number of available appointments.
‘However, there are still barriers to accessing hearing services within Manchester. We spoke to Elsie about how difficult it is for individuals to get a hearing test without the option of self-referral. We discussed the need for more accessible and streamlined routes in to hearing care in the area.’
‘It was fantastic to meet the team at Specsavers Middleton, hearing about how experts are providing care on our high street. Supporting the NHS, they are helping look after the health of my constituents,’ says Elsie.
‘It was also fascinating to hear about the training required for all members of the team, and how community opticians and audiologists have the skills to play an even bigger part in delivering critical services in the community.’
As a locally owned and run business, Elsie also heard about how Specsavers Middleton supports community organisations and provides a range of career opportunities for local people.
Kimberley McNally, who is director of the store, says that the MP had a tour and spoke to the team about what each did.
‘We are locally owned and run, and proud to be at the heart of our community providing exceptional eye health and hearing care as well as supporting local organisations. We also spoke about Specsavers’ mission to change lives through better sight and hearing, and our ambition to further improve access to care for all.’
Specsavers has more than 1,000 stores throughout the UK and is the leading provider of NHS primary care optometry services – testing more than 20 million eyes every year. It also provides more than 40% of NHS community audiology services in England, supporting more than 200,000 NHS audiology patients a year. Ear wax removal is another popular service offered by Specsavers.
Specsavers Middleton is open seven days a week. To book an appointment, visit: www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/middleton or call the store on 0161 654 0440. For those that can’t leave their homes unaccompanied due to disability or illness, Specsavers also offers a Home Visits service covering more than 90% of the UK – with more details available at www.specsavers.co.uk/home-eye-tests.